One of MTG’s biggest strengths is the number of different ways you can play it. Thanks to offering all kinds of different formats, competitive and casual alike, MTG players have an incredible opportunity to create and tweak their own unique experiences. Vintage Cube, for example, provides an opportunity for players to use the strongest cards Magic has to offer. You can similarly test the limits of commons in Pauper, or just play games among friends in Commander.
All of that said, many of MTG players’ favorite formats are a lot smaller than that. Even opening a pack can become a fun gameplay experience with a story, if you know where to look. Thanks to a short uploaded by The Command Zone, MTG players are rediscovering the unique format of Pai Gow, something that’s both extremely simple and offers ridiculous infinite combos. Affectionally named after the Chinese Domino game, Pai Gow turns your Play Booster opening into a war zone.
Pai Gow MTG
To play Pai Gow MTG also known as Booster Blitz, both players need to have a fresh, sealed pack of cards. While Play Boosters are certainly the cheapest way to do this, nothing’s stopping you from trying a Collector Booster, which will, debatably, create more interesting but unbalanced games. The winner of the Pai Gow bout will, traditionally, win both packs, but nothing is stopping you from just playing for fun.
With your pack of cards, you need to build four different 3-card decks. This means you won’t use every card you open in your packs. Considering that most Play Boosters contain at least one land, this isn’t a bad thing, as, for the most part, lands aren’t helpful in Pai Gow since you have infinite mana. From there, your objective is to win two games of Magic before your opponent.
Here are the rules for MTG Pai Gow:
- Players start at 5 life
- Your pile of cards start in your hand
- You cannot lose the game by decking out
- You have infinite mana of any color
- If a game ends up turning into a board stall and cannot progress, it’s a draw
Additionally, if you want to balance out the power level of cards with activated abilities, there is an additional optional rule that limits activated abilities to once per turn. This prevents antics like Earthen Ally making an infinitely big land in the Command Zone video, but it can easily still take over a game.
Notably, the four 3-card deck rule is a variation of the original rules of MTG Pai Gow put forward by MTG Hall-of-Famer Frank Karsten. While Play Boosters generally only have 14 cards in them, Draft Boosters had 15, allowing for a fifth Pai Gow deck for a potential best of three tiebreaker game.
How to Win Pai Gow MTG
A big element of playing Pai Gow is knowing how to properly balance the power between your piles. Cards that essentially win the game on their own, like Earthen Ally, shouldn’t need a lot of supporting elements. This gives you an opportunity to have that card essentially ‘carry’ a lot of your other, weaker cards that don’t have a lot of value in Pai Gow. Draw spells and lands, for example, are cards that really do not accomplish anything in this format, so finding places to stick them is occasionally necessary, especially in the old five-pile variant.
Otherwise, look for cards that can do big things when combined. Earthbending is, once again, a great example of this since you can make a land into a valuable resource. Another example can be found in cards like Avatar Enthusiasts, which is a lot more powerful alongside Allies that create multiple bodies like Kyoshi Warriors. A lot of games will come down to stats on the board, so don’t underestimate what a simple +2/+2 can achieve.
As an important note for the Booster Blitz variant of Pai Gow, each of your piles must have a succinct game plan. Because the order in which you play your piles is randomized, if you focus too much power on specific ones, there’s a chance you’ll lose two games before you even get to play your stronger piles. You should be able to look at any of your given piles and understand how you can win a game. Notably, having five life can change the value of various cards significantly. A big flier, or a large direct damage spell, easily has the potential to win the game on its own.
All of that said, Pai Gow is ultimately a very simple game mode to make pack openings a more enjoyable experience. Once you get a handle on the rules and assess your cards with the format in mind, you’ll be Pai Gow master in no time.
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